Elisa Fucci, who "chose life" by putting her child for adoption when she was a minor, uploaded in YouTube on December 31 her story that provided a glimpse of what took place more than two decades after.
The video entitled, "My Adoption Story," began with photos of Fucci's son when he was still a baby and before he was put on adoption. The scene changed into an actual footage in an airport showing Fucci hugging her son for a long time. Fucci's son, already a grown man and taller than her, could be seen crying because his face was all read.
The video eventually did show that both mother and son were crying after they stopped hugging each other and wiped their tears. The mood of the scene changes as Fucci 's laughter could be heard, but their conversation was not clear because the video was filmed from a distance to give them some privacy.
In an article published in Live Action a day after uploading her video, Fucci detailed how her life was before, during, and after the adoption.
"At the age of 15, I became pregnant and chose life and adoption to give my son the life I never had and the family he deserved. Even before I was pregnant, I knew that adoption was an act of love and found it fascinating how someone could become a parent because of the selfless act of someone else," Fucci said.
"After finding out I was pregnant and realizing I could not parent my child in my situation even if I wanted to, I decided to make the most out of the situation," she added.
Fucci raised that she conceived "out of wedlock" and for that her "religion looked down" on her pregnancy. At that time, her world was "collapsing" so she decided that the best thing to do was to have her son up for adoption, even though no one in her family supported her. She pointed out that adoption was regarded as "child abandonment" by her culture. Yet she continued as she knew in her "heart it had to be this way."
"I knew what I had to do even in the midst of despair. I knew I could never offer my son what was rightfully his, a life full of opportunities. A home where both mom and dad wanted him," Fucci emphasized.
On the day of the adoption, she admitted feeling "confusion" and "despair" in giving her son to "someone I hardly knew but who wanted a son so desperately." She was not able to sign the adoption papers immediately as she had to take some time recollecting herself from the "voices" in her head causing her to doubt and be indecisive.
"Praying was hard. The voices in my head were so loud I could not get a sentence out. But I persisted, and finally...there was peace in my soul. I knew right then and there this was going to change lives--not only mine but the adoptive parents'...and most importantly, my son's life," Fucci shared.
Fucci said she eventually signed the papers and gave her son to the adoptive mother. She left feeling the joy of the adoptive mother who got the child she dreamt of. Fucci stressed this made her feel her "world collapsed" again because of the "pain of loss" as a mother.
According to Fucci, seeing the photos of her son growing up over the years confirmed in her that she made the right decision. She then decided to reach out to him last December, to which his son surprisingly agreed. They then met on Christmas weekend and spent many hours together.
"He thanked me for the life I gave him and for the sacrifice I made so he could be the man he is today. Words cannot describe the joy I felt being around him and reconnecting with him," Fucci recounted.
"There is love and only love when you choose life and adoption. There's the opportunity for lifelong bonds and relationships. 'Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin.' Mine has just begun!" she ended.
